An autoimmune disorder occurs when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks their own body tissues. The main function of our immune system is to defend the body from germs and other foreign invaders. But with autoimmune disorders, the body fails to tell the difference between your good cells and the bad germs. When this happens, the body makes antibodies that are directed towards the body’s own tissues called auto-antibodies. These autoantibodies attack the normal cells by mistake causing mass disorder and chaos throughout the body and disrupt normal function.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis – is an auto-immune disease caused when the body attacks the thyroid gland. Which can often result in an underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism). Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It primarily affects middle-aged women but also can occur in men and women of any age and in children.
Hashimotos Thyroiditis disease of the thyroid gland is named after the Japanese physician Hakaru Hashimoto. Graves disease is also an autoimmune disease of the gland causing overactivity. An auto-immune disease means that the body’s own antibodies attack cells within the body as they fail to recognize the cells as part of that body and therefore antibodies attack, in this case, the Thyroid gland. Other examples of autoimmune diseases are: Addison’s disease (Adrenal Glands), Diabetes Mellitus (Pancreas), Systemic Lupus (connective tissue) Rheumatoid Arthritis (joints).
It is important to point out that once you have an auto-immune disease, you are more susceptible to developing others.
There is still limited medical knowledge as to why auto-immune disease occurs and usually, there is a family history. However, much can be done to alleviate the unpleasant symptoms associated with them.
There is still limited medical knowledge as to why auto-immune disease occurs and usually, there is a family history. However, much can be done to alleviate the unpleasant symptoms associated with them.
Graves’ Disease – is an auto-immune disease. It most commonly affects the thyroid, often causing it to enlarge and become overactive (hyperthyroidism). Click here for articles on Graves’ disease.
Adrenal Fatigue – plays an important role in moderating auto-immune diseases. During adrenal fatigue, your adrenal glands are not producing enough cortisol to counter your auto-immune inflammatory reaction. A healthy adrenal gland is therefore essential for minimizing damage from uncontrolled inflammation brought about by auto-immune processes. Click here for articles on Adrenals.
Fibromyalgia – is best characterized by the chronic pain related to soft-tissue throughout the body. Symptoms may include weakness, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. The cause is unknown but is believed to involve psychological, genetic, neurobiological and environmental factors. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can cause problems similar to fibromyalgia. Click here for articles on Fibromyalgia.
List of over 100 Autoimmune Diseases:
- Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM)
- Acute necrotizing hemorrhagic leukoencephalitis
- Addison’s disease
- Agammaglobulinemia
- Alopecia areata
- Amyloidosis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Anti-GBM/Anti-TBM nephritis
- Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)
- Autoimmune angioedema
- Autoimmune aplastic anemia
- Autoimmune dysautonomia
- Autoimmune hepatitis
- Autoimmune hyperlipidemia
- Autoimmune immunodeficiency
- Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED)
- Autoimmune myocarditis
- Autoimmune oophoritis
- Autoimmune pancreatitis
- Autoimmune retinopathy
- Autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (ATP)
- Autoimmune thyroid disease
- Autoimmune urticaria
- Axonal & neuronal neuropathies
- Balo disease
- Behcet’s disease
- Bullous pemphigoid
- Cardiomyopathy
- Castleman disease
- Celiac disease
- Chagas disease
- Chronic fatigue syndrome**
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
- Chronic recurrent multifocal ostomyelitis (CRMO)
- Churg-Strauss syndrome
- Cicatricial pemphigoid/benign mucosal pemphigoid
- Crohn’s disease
- Cogans syndrome
- Cold agglutinin disease
- Congenital heart block
- Coxsackie myocarditis
- CREST disease
- Essential mixed cryoglobulinemia
- Demyelinating neuropathies
- Dermatitis herpetiformis
- Dermatomyositis
- Devic’s disease (neuromyelitis optica)
- Discoid lupus
- Dressler’s syndrome
- Endometriosis
- Eosinophilic esophagitis
- Eosinophilic fasciitis
- Erythema nodosum
- Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis
- Evans syndrome
- Fibromyalgia**
- Fibrosing alveolitis
- Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis)
- Giant cell myocarditis
- Glomerulonephritis
- Goodpasture’s syndrome
- Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) (formerly called Wegener’s Granulomatosis)
- Graves’ disease
- Guillain-Barre syndrome
- Hashimoto’s encephalitis
- Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
- Hemolytic anemia
- Henoch-Schonlein purpura
- Herpes gestationis
- Hypogammaglobulinemia
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- IgA nephropathy
- IgG4-related sclerosing disease
- Immunoregulatory lipoproteins
- Inclusion body myositis
- Interstitial cystitis
- Juvenile arthritis
- Juvenile diabetes (Type 1 diabetes)
- Juvenile myositis
- Kawasaki syndrome
- Lambert-Eaton syndrome
- Leukocytoclastic vasculitis
- Lichen planus
- Lichen sclerosus
- Ligneous conjunctivitis
- Linear IgA disease (LAD)
- Lupus (SLE)
- Lyme disease, chronic
- Meniere’s disease
- Microscopic polyangiitis
- Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD)
- Mooren’s ulcer
- Mucha-Habermann disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Myasthenia gravis
- Myositis
- Narcolepsy
- Neuromyelitis optica (Devic’s)
- Neutropenia
- Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid
- Optic neuritis
- Palindromic rheumatism
- PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus)
- Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration
- Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)
- Parry Romberg syndrome
- Parsonnage-Turner syndrome
- Pars planitis (peripheral uveitis)
- Pemphigus
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Perivenous encephalomyelitis
- Pernicious anemia
- POEMS syndrome
- Polyarteritis nodosa
- Type I, II, & III autoimmune polyglandular syndromes
- Polymyalgia rheumatica
- Polymyositis
- Postmyocardial infarction syndrome
- Postpericardiotomy syndrome
- Progesterone dermatitis
- Primary biliary cirrhosis
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Psoriasis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Pyoderma gangrenosum
- Pure red cell aplasia
- Raynauds phenomenon
- Reactive Arthritis
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Reiter’s syndrome
- Relapsing polychondritis
- Restless legs syndrome
- Retroperitoneal fibrosis
- Rheumatic fever
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sarcoidosis
- Schmidt syndrome
- Scleritis
- Scleroderma
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Sperm & testicular autoimmunity
- Stiff person syndrome
- Subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE)
- Susac’s syndrome
- Sympathetic ophthalmia
- Takayasu’s arteritis
- Temporal arteritis/Giant cell arteritis
- Thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
- Tolosa-Hunt syndrome
- Transverse myelitis
- Type 1 diabetes
- Ulcerative colitis
- Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD)
- Uveitis
- Vasculitis
- Vesiculobullous dermatosis
- Vitiligo
- Wegener’s granulomatosis (now termed Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA)
**NOTE: Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue are listed, not because they are auto-immune, but because many persons who suffer from them have associated auto-immune disease(s)
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